Taiwan – an island nation in the Pacific Ocean has countless interesting places to visit, from the towering skyscrapers of Taipei to the aboriginal tribes on the unspoiled offshore islands, along with With a rich culinary background and the inspiration for many famous movies, the country attracts a large number of tourists every year and is one of the ideal places to visit for world movie fans. gender.
Before director Ang Lee, who won two Oscars, filmed one of his masterpieces – Life of Pi (2012) – in his home country of Taiwan, this beautiful island was already well known in the film world for its sense of humor. Inspired by the village of Jiufen in the animated film Spirited Away . Later, it was Ang Ang himself who suggested that the great cinematic tree Martin Scorsese set up the scene of the passionate film Silence (2016) here. What makes Taiwan a “Hollywood’s go-to island” for cinematographers to unleash their creativity?
Following the advice of Nick M, a travel and film travel blogger, let’s explore the familiar destinations on screen in Taiwan!
Real experience in Miyazaki’s anime film world
Any audience who has seen the Oscar-winning animated film – Spirited Away – will surely be impressed with the vibrant atmosphere in the prosperous town where little Chihiro works. The town is located on a hill right next to the sea, with many ancient tiled roofs, stone-roofed roads following steep slopes around, small alleys up and down by stairs, on both sides of the steps are countless rows of rows of rows of rows of rows of stone. shop. It all gets busier when night falls and the colors from the red lanterns glow.
The scenery and pace of life in the ancient village of Jiufen – an hour’s drive from Taipei – is identical to the world in Spirited Away . The similarity is so clear that many sources even insisted that Jiufen was the inspiration for Spirited Away , although director Miyazaki himself had to deny it.
If you really watch every detail of the movie, especially the red lantern image, and the history of the two towns as mining towns, you will feel this similarity. During World War II, Japanese prisoners of war were transferred to Jinguashi to mine gold from the port of Keelung and through Jiufen. Jiufen, as the name of the movie Hou Hieu Hien directed and was filmed here, was once A City of Sadness .
The past is over, now both Jinguashi and Jiufen have become top tourist destinations in Taiwan. Coming to Jiufen, you will enjoy a world of street food that is extremely rich from all kinds of balls (fish, meat, shrimp), hot pot, tea, cakes to the signature drink of milk tea, even is the famous milk tea sprinkled with gold. And to live just like in the anime world of Spirited Away , don’t forget about Jiufen’s „spiritual specialties“ which are the tea houses that are most famous, most beautiful, and most similar to public baths. in Spirited Away is A-Mei Teahouse. Come here to enjoy a cup of oolong tea, sip green bean cakes, and mochi cakes. When night falls on Jiufen, take a slow walk to feel a magical anime world that exists in real life.
“Life of Pi” – Journey from North to South
Ang Lee, the beloved son of Taiwanese cinema, has filmed many films in Taiwan, the highlight of which is still Life of Pi , the 2013 Oscar-winning movie.
Most of the scenes in Life of Pi were filmed in Taiwan over a period of five and a half months. Many „supporting actors“ appear in the film are animals in Taipei Zoo (Taipei City Zoo) such as sloths, rhinos, Burmese pythons, leopards, flamingos, ring-tailed lemurs, orangutans. Orangutan, zebra, black bear Formosan (original of OhBear Bear) – Tourism Ambassador of Taiwan. The interesting thing is that in the movie all the animals act very naturally without any practice.
Taipei City Zoo has partnered with a film company to erect signs at the zoo to mark locations for visitors to recognize the lovable movie stars in Life of Pi .
After visiting Taipei, Life of Pi fans can head to Taichung, which serves as the main backdrop for the Pacific Ocean scene. To get footage of the vast ocean, the crew created a huge wave pool located at Taichung’s old airport, Shuinan. And the last point, which is also home to many impressive scenes, is Kenting National Park located in Pingtung County (Pingtung County), which can be mentioned as the white sand beach in Baisha (Mexican beach in the movie). In Taiwan, Kenting is always an attractive resort for all types of guests and especially those who love the sea. In addition to water sports activities, it also has tropical forests, grasslands, and overwhelming sea cliffs.
Blockbuster „Lucy“ and classic „Silence“
After Life of Pi , Lucy (2014) was the first Hollywood blockbuster to be filmed in Taiwan. The film has the participation of Hollywood actress – Scarlett Johansson. Lucy captures every corner of Taipei’s streets, as well as familiar destinations such as the world’s tallest building Taipei 101, Regent Hotel, Taipei Shipyard, Yongle Fabric Market and Taiwan Airport. North Taoyuan.
Not set in an urban setting, Silence of the „godfather“ of cinema Martin Scorsese returns to the rich and diverse nature of the beautiful pearl island. At the suggestion of Ang Lee, Martin filmed all his favorite works in Taiwan and set the main scene in Yangmingshan National Park (Yangmingshan). The hot springs in the Beitou area – at the foot of the mountain, one of Taiwan’s top destinations, are also included in the film alongside the relaxing mountain scenery of the national park.
Moving quite far from Taipei, the film crew also chose a hiking place between Jinguashi and Shuangxi for the scene where priest Sebastião Rodrigues (played by Andrew Garfield) walks among the hills; as well as some scenes that celebrate the beauty of Taroko National Park.
Lucy and Silence are just two of many foreign film projects and the success of the Taipei Film Foundation (TFC) in attracting top Hollywood filmmakers to the pearl island blessed with natural beauty. full of creative inspiration.
An interesting thing is that TFC was born in 2007 after Taipei lost the opportunity to make the setting for Mission Impossible 3 to Shanghai because of complicated administrative procedures. Now, things have changed as Taiwan competes with Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan as a favorite destination for Hollywood filmmakers in Asia. And who knows, in the future, when many art works and blockbusters are made here, visitors will have new adventures, from experiencing cinema to experiencing a lively set in Taiwan. .
Recently, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau in Vietnam is also organizing many activities to promote Taiwan tourism. Accompanying these activities is OhBear Bear – the ambassador who has accompanied Taiwan since 2014. The highlight is the t-shirt design contest with OhBear Bear – to connect Vietnamese young people with „Touching the rhythm“ Taiwan“.